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Susan La Flesche Picotte

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Doctor

The Resume

    (June 17, 1865-September 18, 1915)
    Born in Omaha Reservation, Nebraska
    Public health advocate and social reformer
    First Native American woman to earn a medical degree
    Graduate of Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
    Known as 'Dr. Sue' by patients

Why she might be annoying:

    She was a Temperance/prohibition biddy.
    She engaged in a years-long struggle with in-laws and the Office of Indian Affairs over her husband's inheritance.
    She successfully won out after accusing her brother-in-law of being an alcoholic.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was the first American Indian - of either gender - to become a physician in the United States.
    She graduated at the top of her class.
    She opted to return to her reservation after getting her degree to provide the medical care that her tribe.
    She actively campaigned to prevent and treat tuberculosis.
    She treated over 1,300 patients in a 450 square mile area.
    She educated other Omaha on how to deal with the Office of Indian Affairs on tribal land rights issues.
    She was early in identifying the problems of alcoholism on Indian Reservations.
    She personally raised the funds to build a modern hospital in her hometown.
    She promoted life-saving hygiene practices (including the elimination of communal drinking cups and the installation of screen doors to keep out disease-carrying insects).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 12 Votes: 8.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 27 Votes: 7.41% Annoying